As the demand for more efficiency in vehicles increases with the government and some consumers in the U.S., some drivers are starting to consider vehicles that previously weren't popular options. One of the efficient options that consumers are starting to take notice of is the diesel engine. Clean diesels are one of the technologies that several major automakers are now looking into.

The Detroit News reports that as of now diesel sales in the U.S. are less than 3% of the total sales, which is expected to change. One of the new diesel vehicles coming to the market is from a domestic manufacturer; Chevrolet will introduce a diesel version of Cruze in 2013. For GM, bringing the diesel Cruz to the U.S. has little risk since it already sells diesel cars in other countries.

The Chevrolet Cruze Diesel will arrive in '13

Other automakers are looking to diesel cars as well with Mazda expecting to launch a new diesel engine in 2013, and the recipient is likely to be the all-new CX-5 small crossover utility vehicle. German automakers Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, and Mercedes all offer diesel-powered vehicles in the U.S.

Some suppliers to automakers like Robert Bosch LLC are predicting that diesel sales will grow to be 10% of the U.S. market over the next decade. Diesel cars are very popular in Europe where gasoline is expensive and diesel is more cost effective.

And it's not only economy cars that will be going diesel -- some performance cars are moving to diesel engines. BMW is expected to launch a diesel version of the M5 next year.

Mazda is widely expected to bring a diesel version of the new CX-5 to the U.S.

The big draw for diesel engines is that the engines are often more durable, produce more torque, and they are 20 to 30% more efficient.

I think I read once that in Europe, diesel is more expensive than petrol in only two few countries, the UK and Switzerland. Unfortunately (in terms of fuel prices, that is!), I live in the former, and the petrol -> diesel price gap is starting to rear its ugly head again; it used to be about 3 or 4p and is now about 8p at my closest garage (I'm in Yorkshire), which, for reference, is £1.31 for 95 octane, and £1.39 for city diesel. In Germany, diesel is much cheaper, albeit diesel vehicles are taxed more, which isn't an issue if you're driving a decent amount of miles per year.

I really, REALLY wish it was €1.37 a litre, that'd be a huge cut.

Here's the Wiki link for reference, makes very sobering reading if you're a European:

"So, I think the same thing of the music industry. They can't say that they're losing money, you know what I'm saying. They just probably don't have the same surplus that they had." -- Wu-Tang Clan founder RZA